Following on from the Bridging Event in June, students are coached through the transition from Year 11 into the Sixth Form.
They are shown how to organise their notes, books and folders to a high standard and provided with strategies to keep on top of this organisation.
There is also a focus on how to manage their free time - both in school and at home - and how to find the right balance between studies and other commitments outside of school.
Students are made aware of the purposes of (and the differences between) these aspects of their study: homework; independent learning; revision of recent content; revision of content studied earlier in courses; super-curricular experiences; developing skills as well as consolidating knowledge. Recommendations of super-curricular experiences are introduced and varied revision strategies are explained and modelled.
Individuals finish the term feeling more confident about the transition into Sixth Form. They understand the important foundations they need to base their studies on and are able to put these new skills into use in their A Level subjects.
Students are introduced to pathways they could take after Sixth Form. Different levels of apprenticeship, university courses, other routes into employment and types of gap year are all explained.
Undergraduates and admissions officers from the University of East Anglia give a talk and our own alumni join us to answer questions about the varied journeys they have made since their time in the Sixth Form. This serves as an introduction to our Next Steps programme (which students begin fully in Term 4) and, following the focus on the transition from Year 11 in Term 1, provides students with an understanding of what they will be doing over and beyond the rest of their time with us.
They also learn about our approach to work experience and are provided with resources and guidance about how, when and why they should apply.
Students finish Term 2 with a clear understanding of their options are Sixth Form, what they need to do to achieve their goals and how we will support them to do this.
Students learn about these - and other - areas of finance:
1. Credit (including the risks involved)
2. Interest rates
3. Payslips
4. Income tax
5. National insurance
6. Pension contributions
7. Car insurance
8. Student insurance.
Students understand more about areas of finance that will soon be relevant to them. They appreciate how some help areas of society (e.g. how money raised through tax is spent on public services and welfare) and the risks involved in using credit.
Students learn about Public Sexual Harassment (PSH) using resources from the Our Streets Now movement and elsewhere. They develop a knowledge of what PSH is, the scale of it in our society, the impact on those who are victims of it and the laws relating to it. Students also learn about the problem of trying to deal with PSH as a legal issue only, resulting in them understanding the moral responsibility they have to challenge and educate others.
Students understand the moral responsibility they have to challenge and educate others in relation to PSH and other relevant matters.
Open discussions in which students respect, care for and trust each other enable them to learn from varied views and experiences. This is a powerful way in which students (particularly male) can be educated by their peers.
Students are introduced to critical thinking skills and given a chance to develop their cultural capital through wider reading about important contemporary issues. The current topics depend on what is happening in the world around the students each year, with the subjects of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill and the Conservative leadership election studied in 2022.
By focusing on contemporary issues, this engages the students as the topics are likely to have an impact on their own futures. They learn how to spot agendas that different media organisations may have, look at the wider contexts of a situation, evaluate the validity of a point of view, make links between diverse sources and engage in wider research effectively.
Students develop their own individual views and learn the importance of reinforcing these with evidence. They also learn to think critically about sources that might influence them and important contemporary issues.
Open discussions in which students respect, care for and trust each other enable them to learn from varied views and experiences. Students also learn how to challenge other viewpoints in the correct manner.
Students are taught how to debate ideas professionally and effectively, then participate in one. This unit builds on the previous one as the contemporary issues form the basis of the debate in which critical thinking skills are essential.
After learning about how to debate with success, students work in groups to undertake further research about the topics studied in Term 5. As part of this, they must think about the sources in a critical way. Once they have a detailed understanding of different perspectives on the issue, they are given a side to argue and then must prepare for the debate together. They then debate against another group and are assessed on their use of diverse sources, the cohesion of their argument, their critical thinking skills and their ability to sustain a broad and deep debate over a period of time.
Students develop their own individual views and learn the importance of reinforcing these with evidence. They also learn to think critically about sources that might influence them and important contemporary issues.
Open discussions in which students respect, care for and trust each other enable them to learn from varied views and experiences. Students also learn how to challenge other viewpoints in the correct manner.